The UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television is going to a
place it has never gone before ““ the World Wide Web.
This summer, for the very first time, the school is offering
online classes during summer sessions A and C in production,
screenwriting and contemporary film industries. The classes, which
are primarily undergraduate-level courses, are open to anyone, UCLA
student or not.
While online teaching is nothing new to college campuses across
the nation, the School of Theater, Film and Television has never
before offered summer classes that are conducted entirely via the
Internet. The classes are modeled after those taught during the
regular school year and have been transformed to allow students to
access them on their home computers.
“It sounded like a really innovative and creative way to
teach a film class,” said film Professor Denise Mann, who
teaches a course on Hollywood’s economic and business
structures. “During the school year I teach the regular brick
and mortar version of this class, so turning it into an online
course seemed right.”
While offering the courses online is new, the material is the
same as the regular courses taught during the school year. Students
taking the online classes have access to the same movie clips, the
same books, and even the same interaction with other students.
According to film professor Myrl Schreibman, using different
mediums for learning can be more beneficial than most people might
assume. For example, instead of having the standard discussion
classes that many undergraduate courses often have, the online
classes use a chat room, where the students are able to directly
ask the professor questions.
“The learning (in the online classes) is different because
there is a direct interactivity with the material,” said
Schreibman, who is teaching an online class on independent feature
production this summer. “You’re not just sitting and
listening to a lecture; you’re actually doing things and
going places on the Internet.”
Giving students alternative ways to access information and
materials is always a goal of any college program, and UCLA’s
unique location in the heart of the film industry gives it a wide
range of appeal to people both in and outside of Los Angeles. The
summer online classes are open to students anywhere in the world as
the books and materials are available in almost every major
language.
“It’s important to make learning accessible to a
larger crowd that would not normally have the opportunity to
experience this aspect of UCLA, especially in the summer when we
open up the campus to students from all over the world,” said
Mann.
Because film production is an expensive process but also a
popular one, the department is always searching for ways to open up
its classes and resources to those who are not UCLA film students.
The decision, then, to offer open online classes, was a no-brainer,
especially since it opens UCLA’s film resources to the rest
of the world.
“There’s a large interest outside of the United
States in film right now,” said Mann. “Many countries
are attempting to revitalize their own cinema, so offering online
classes falls in line with people outside of Los Angeles’
growing interest in learning the fundamentals of film.”
Yet while the benefits remain, working with students entirely
over the Internet does pose a few challenges.
“Normally during a lecture you have the ability to make
side comments and speak extemporaneously,” said Mann.
“With an online course, you really have to lay down the
lectures before hand, and figure out the best way to present the
material in its final form.”
Without the opportunity for students to raise their hands and
ask questions at any time during class, professors are making sure
to plan their online lectures in ways that will minimize confusion.
It’s a concern that only becomes stronger knowing that the
classes will be many students’ first film classes.
“My course is one that’s not going to be over the
heads of people ““ it’s really a course for the
screenwriter, for the actor, and for anyone else (who’s)
interested in learning the basics of production,” said
Schreibman. “It speaks to a very broad base of people and
still maintains the academic integrity of the course, which is
something I just won’t compromise.”